Mercy sponsored ministries around the world celebrate September 24 as Mercy Day, the anniversary of the opening of Catherine McAuley’s House of Mercy in Dublin, Ireland. At Mercy High School, the day takes on an even greater meaning as members of the senior class receive their long-awaited Mercy Rings.

This year held special significance as we celebrated the 65th anniversary of when Mercy High School opened its doors to members of the Class of 1964. We are grateful to the special guests who were able to join us including The Most Reverend William E. Lori; Mr. Gregory Farno, chancellor of education in the Archdiocese of Baltimore; Sister Patricia McCarron, SSND, superintendent of Archdiocese of Baltimore Catholic Schools; Sister Mary Anne Smith, RSM and Sister Fran DeMarco, RSM; Ms. Nell Stetser, assistant executive director of Mercy Education; members of our Board of Trustees; and past administrators of Mercy High School—Ms. JoAnn Gargiulo Lazzeri ’71, P’01 and Ms. Mary Ella Franz Marion ’76, P’09.

After concluding our Mercy Day Liturgy, we celebrated our Ring Day Ceremony in honor of the Class of 2026. Nine members of the Class of 1976 were able to join us as grandsisters.

This year, 20 students in the Class of 2026 have a mother or grandmother who also attended Mercy, and we celebrated five triple legacy families. Senior Taylor M. was selected by her class to read her “What My Mercy Ring Means To Me” speech and “The History of the Mercy Ring” was read by Meghan Kline Whitehead ’95, P’26. Congratulations, Class of 2026!

 

The cover photo for this article features our legacy families. Identifications are provided below.

Bottom Row: Kelly Whitehead ’26; Lilly Cain ’26; Emma Panageotou ’26; Stamatia Lawrence ’26; Sophia Rizzo ’26; Gabi Cullum ’26; Natalie Shumway ’26; Eva Puleo ’26; Grace Mooney ’26; Lauren Dallas ’26; Amelia Broccolina ’26; Anna Davis ’26; Alisia Hiemstra ’26; Ellen Clark ’26; Margot Gilroy-Scott ’26; Grace Willis ’26; Cailee Compton ’26; Faith Grab ’26; Gabriella Hoover ’26

 

Top Row: Meghan Kline Whitehead ’95, P’26; Barbara Scannell Kline ’64, P’95, GP’26; Dianna Whittington ’75, GP’26; Tricia Henry Panageotou ’95, P’23, ’26; Andrea Mitsos ’92, P’26; Reginia Piccinilli Mitsos ’65, P’92, GP’26; Concetta Mitsos Yates ’89; Jennifer Hayes Rizzo ’89, P’26; Rachel Snyder ’01, P’26; Maureen Coyne Shumway ’93, P’26; Lynnea Pinder ’99, P’26; Nancy Hoerl Vogtman ’72, P’99, GP’26; Jamie Vogtman Mooney ’99, P’26; Cheri Johnson Dallas ’90, P’26; Heather Stricker Broccolina ’93, P’26; LuAnn Barnaba Davis ’74, GP’26, ’28; Heather Valunas Davis ’99, P’26, ’28; Tristan Churney Hiemstra ’94, P’25, ’26; Amy Taylor Clark ’93, P’26; Alicia Morin Gilroy-Scott ’93, P’26; Kim Bittner Willis ’97, P’26; Claire Velten ’98, P’26; Liz Lombardo Grab ’02, P’26; Maria Breschi Lombardo ’64, P’02, GP’26; Gloria Ventura Ellis ’79, GP’26